In recent years, with regard to a display device such as a digital television, which displays broadcast video images, attention has been paid to highly useful functions such as allowing a user to select an object in a video image displayed on the screen by using a pointing device such as a touch panel or a mouse; searching a database for information relating to the selected object; and displaying the obtained information.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a conventional apparatus having the above described functions. An information browsing device 103 in Patent Literature 1 displays TV broadcast video images; obtains, when a user designates a desired point or area on a video image by using a mouse or the like, information about the point or area on the screen based on the user-designated point or area on the screen; obtains information such as a channel number and broadcasting hours from a TV tuner; and transmits these pieces of information to an information search device 109. The information search device 109, based on the information received from the information browsing device 103, searches a database 111 for related information and transmits the obtained related information to the information browsing device 103. The information browsing device 103 displays the received related information.
However, in the case where an object sought to be selected by a user is moves quickly, the user cannot follow the motion of the object, resulting in difficulty in selecting the desired object.
Patent Literature 2 discloses another conventional apparatus which solves the above problem. The apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 2 searches a time range which includes a time range shortly before the time at which a user has operated a touch panel for selecting an object. Accordingly, even if the user has operated the touch panel not in time for the motion of the object, the user can select the object.